Friday, March 4, 2016

It has been a long time in coming for both the girls and
boys Basketball teams at Windham High School and to get this award in the
same season for the same sport is a recognizable event. Last
Saturday night both teams attended the Championship games at the
Civic Center to accept sportsmanship banners on behalf of Windham High
School.

“To date WHS has won seven MPA good sportsmanship banners
this school year:Boys cross country,
girls cross country, golf, field hockey and volleyball.Recently we were notified that boys and girls
basketball are each recipients of this honor bringing the total for the year to
seven banners.To win one sportsmanship
banner in any given school year is a feat and something to be proud of but to
be a part of seven with the spring season still to go is something
special.It's always nice to have
competitive teams but to have competitive teams who add this to the mix is
outstanding," said RSU14 athletic director Rich Drummond.

Rich Drummond has been the main reason the athletic
programs have been honored with so many sportsmanship awards this year. He has
been vital in my first year as a coach and is consistently reminding me since I
was hired of the importance of sportsmanship,” said boys varsity coach Chad
Pulkkinen.

The sportsmanship award isn't an individual award
but a team award, to have all the players work together can be a tough
feat.

“High school athletics teaches you how to deal with
adversity, and maintaining a positive attitude on and off the court allows you
to get over bumps in the road quickly and move on the next game," said
girls varsity coach Brody Artes.

"Coming in as a new coach, culture was the most important aspect I wanted
to build up within our team/program. All our coaches echoed my demands on
how we wanted to conduct ourselves at practice, on the bus, at home and at away
games and in the classroom. We felt if we continued to remind them of the
importance of body language, attitude and being good teammates that our culture
would strengthen. The kids really took ownership of their actions and
represented Windham positively throughout the season," said
Pulkkinen. “Zach LaCombe and Kyle Kilfoil never got rattled or showed any
signs of poor body language in any situation. They never lost their
composure. When you have that type of an example, especially with the
young team we have, it becomes contagious. I think that is a reflection of
the parents and how these kids are raised."

Artes agreed. "When coaching an athletic team it’s
important to make sure that you coach emotions as well as skills. It’s
important to foster a level of confidence in your players so that they can
compete at a high level, but it’s also equally important to prepare your
players for the emotional side of the game. Basketball is a game of runs,
and with each game comes those moments in which you go on an 8-0 run, or the
other team goes on a 10-0 run, and you have to be mentally prepared to handle
that and deal with that throughout the season. We talk a lot about what
our reactions should be to the physical mistakes that we make on the floor, and
a lot of times those physical reactions to mistakes have to come with a
positive mental reaction on the very next play."

"As their coach, I feel responsible for the way they
act on the court during the course of a game,”Artes continued, “but I also
think the girls did a very good job at maintaining composure this year and
holding each other accountable. We played at South Portland this year
when SMAA Player of the Year Maddie Hasson achieved her 1,000 career point, and
several South Portland parents, school officials and community members
approached me after the game saying how much of a class act our players were,
as well as our parents."

When a team shows an un-sportsmanship behavior it doesn’t
go unnoticed.In fact it can be talked
about beyond the game and beyond the season and effect a school and its
students as it trickles down into the schools other sports.One game in particular this season stands out
for Coach Pulkkinen which he comments on and how his team handled the
situation: “It is easier to lose your composure on the road as a player, especially
in a hostile environment. Our players were challenged from every aspect
in an away game this year that involved a very hostile crowd. A crowd,
quite frankly that was allowed to go over the line throughout the game.
Our players ignored the noise, never engaged in the crowd and stuck
together. After we were defeated, an opposing player approached an
underclassman on our team with an aggressive derogatory comment while in the
presence of one our coaches. A lot of emotions occur when you lose, when
you are on the road and when things do not go your way. Our young player
handled himself the best I have ever seen anyone handle themselves faced in
that situation. I was extremely proud of that player and the maturity he
showed in such a difficult scenario. His actions off the court that night
were bigger than any victory we had all season.”

“For the boys team to win this award for the first time
in over 20 years is truly a representation of our administration, athletic
department and the parents. Our student athletes at WHS are consistently
exemplifying what the school leaders and community is all about. It is an
unbelievable honor to achieve the first AA North Sportsmanship Award and I am
so proud of our guys for the way they handled themselves as student-athletes
throughout the year,” Pulkkinen said.

“At the end of the day, all of the adults involved
(coaches, parents, administrators, community members, etc.) in a player’s high
school athletics experience should hope that we prepare our athletes to be a
positive influence on society after high school, and if we work together to
achieve that for all of our student-athletes, then we have done our job –
regardless of the outcome of a game,” Artes concluded.